II Kings 5; 9:1—7, 30—37; Hosea 1:4; Luke 4:24—30
Life can give to a teacher no greater gift than a disciple who is able to carry on his work. Elijah, alone among the prophets of the Old
Testament, had this satisfaction. Other prophets had followers who
collected their sayings and kept their memories fresh, but only Elijah had a pupil whose temper and ability made it possible for him to pick up his master’s work and carry it through to completion.
The career of Elisha is the direct continuation of that of Elijah and the lives of the two men were so closely interrelated that it is impossible to think of one without the other. Even ancient Hebrew tradition had some difficulty in keeping them apart and it is clear from the Bible that stories told originally about one might easily come to be told about the other also.
Nevertheless, the two men were distinct and their personalities were quite different. Elijah was a solitary, hermitlike figure, while Elisha was a gregarious man living in close association with other prophets. Elijah was essentially a man of prayer, who lived near to God and depended upon his awesome proclamation of the Word of God to achieve his ends.
Elisl1a was more the man of action and did not hesitate to use worldly and political means to arrive at results he considered morally justified.
On the whole, Elijah is a remote and grandiose figure, while Elisha is more human and accessible. Yet with all their differences, the two were animated by a common purpose—a passionate resolve that the pure metal of Israel’s faith should not be contaminated by the alloy of pagan religion and pagan morality.
The story of Elisha’s call and his accession to Elijah’s dignity is told, for those who care to look it up, in I Kings 19:19—21 and II Kings
2:1—15. We shall here consider only two stories from his later career.
Each shows him under a different, but typical, aspect. In the first (II Kings 5) we see him in the role of minister to men’s bodily needs, a role frequently attributed to him and one which no doubt reflects something of the natural warm humanity of his character. In this chapter the
breadth of his sympathies and the power of his God are shown by the fact that the man to whom he ministers is not an Israelite, but a
foreigner, the victorious general of an enemy king. Naaman is said to have been a leper (although this may refer to some milder disease than the one now called leprosy). The story of his healing has come down to us through later disciples of the prophets who told it in such a way as to illustrate two basic principles of prophetic thought: the necessity of unquestioning obedience to God’s commands, and the requirement of pure disinterestedness in those who would serve Him. Naaman objects to what seems to him the silly command to bathe in the Jordan River (vv. 10—12), but his servants point out that one who is prepared to obey
in great matters should also be ready to obey in smnall (13). Convinced, and perhaps somewhat ashamed, he does what he has been told and is rewarded by perfect restoration to health (14). The second principle, the need for disinterestedness in God’s service, is illustrated by the story of Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, who tried to capitalize on his master’s act of kindness (20—24), but was rewarded for his greed and the betrayal of his trust by becoming a leper himself (25—27).
The other story (II Kings 9:1—7, 30—37) illustrates the political side of Elisha’s work and its final, somewhat horrifying, result. Although Ahab, Elijah’s enemy, now was dead, his family still ruled and the Queen- mother Jezebel was the most powerful figure in the land. We see Elisha deliberately stirring up an armed revolt against them and associating with himself the sinister figure of Jehu, a bloody-minded rogue and adventurer if there ever was one, in order to achieve the overthrow of the ruling house (vv. 1—7). The story of Jezebel’s death (30—37) is one of the most shocking and yet
dramatic tales in the Old Testament. Ahab’s dynasty was exterminated;
Jehu became king, and Israel was saved from the danger of national apostasy. The program of Elijah and Elisha was, for the moment at least, fully realized.
Although we sympathize fully with the program, we can only regret the means which Elisha chose to carry it out. The pure religion of the Bible, both Old Testament and New, repudiates the resort to "the arm of flesh"
to accomplish God’s purposes. God is quite able to take care of Himself, as the later prophets never wearied of telling their hearers (though
sincere religious leaders of modern times have occasionally forgotten this). Just a hundred years after Elisha’s time, another prophet cursed the house of Jehu, which was still on the throne, for the blood that was shed in this revolt (Hos. 1:4).
In Luke 4:24—30 two stories telling of Elijah’s and Elisha’s ministry to foreigners are used to illustrate the principle that "no prophet is accepted in his own country." But a greater principle is involved than just this, for a prophet who is repudiated by his own people has the opportunity of taking his message to the larger world. This seemed to have been true of Elijah and Elisha and was certainly true of Jesus and his Gospel. We are meant to understand that a mission to all the world, not merely to the Jews, was implicit in our Lord’s ministry from the very beginning. The two stories of Elijah and Elisha illustrate the fact that God’s power and
love are never limited by national boundaries. The world-embracing Gospel of Christ is the final expression of this basic biblical truth.